Archive for the ‘Ancient Pacific’ Category
By: The Scribe on November, 2010
If you think that hobbits are only found in books and movies you may be surprised by what scientists in Indonesia have discovered. The bones of a three foot tall humanoid female were unearthed on the island of Flores and similar remains have been found on the Palau islands in the South Pacific which are located about 2,000 km away from Flores. Scientists are beginning to believe that this may be an entirely new strain of human and has been named Ho
mo floresiensis.
The first example of this species was a partial skeleton and skull that was found in a site known as Liang Bua. The skull that was connected to the skeleton was approximately the size of a grapefruit. The remains are known to have belonged to a three foot tall humanoid female and was dated to about 18,000 years ago. What is exciting is that the skeletons found on the Palau islands are more recent than this. In fact, this species is known to have lived at the same time as early Homo sapiens, something that is changing the entire way that scientists view human evolution.
This is because in the past human evolution was believed to have followed a single straight path. One species of human was thought to have evolved into the next and that two or more species of humanoids did not coexist at the same time. However the fact that Homo floresiensis lived at the same time as Homo sapiens and that modern humans and Neanderthals were co-existent in Europe approximately 30,000 years ago has caused scientists to review what was previously believed to have been true.
It is known that H. floresiensis was a tool user. This is because stone tools were found alongside the remains discovered on Flores. The tools were extremely delicate but would have been used by these small humans. Remains of six other individuals that belonged to the same species were also discovered on the island. Scientists are looking for more evidence of how they may have lived and the tools that they
The remains of these diminutive humans are new enough that they had not yet become fossilized. Because of this scientists are hoping to be able to extract DNA so that they can study it at length. This discovery may make it possible to get new information on how humans have evolved and how they arrived on the island. There are a number of theories that include land bridges or being washed ashore due to tidal waves.
Although the skeleton found on Flores dated from 18,000 years ago it is believed that these small humans were alive and active on the island until approximately 12,000 years ago. In fact, some people believe that since the island is so isolated that there is always the chance some may still be alive and living in isolated areas and that they simply have not been discovered yet. Some scientists believe that these small humans may also have given rise to some of the folk lore and legends of small people may have been based on these humans.
By: The Scribe on January, 2008
Samoa may have to re-evaluate its tourism position – after advertising itself as the “cradle of Polynesia” for decades, it turns out that Samoa is actually the middle child. Instead, a small, unassuming fishing village in Tonga has been confirmed as the first Polynesian settlement, established around 2900 years ago.
The site of Nukuleka was identified through pottery shards that were spread around the area, attracting the attention of historians due to their unique appearance. This pottery was carried through the region of Melanesia and into the Pacific by a group of people (whose own origins are still debated) that eventually settled here to become Polynesia’s first inhabitants.
The Lapita people located this first village near the mouth of the Fanga-uta lagoon, which 3000 years ago was a large beach – full of shellfish and small wildlife, such as turtles and birds, which the people ate as their main sustenance. Archaeological investigations on the site uncovered layers upon layers of shellfish in the area, confirming human habitation here was extensive – and that the site was not simply a seasonal encampment.
About a century after their establishment of Nukuleka, the entire group of Tonga islands was settled. It was nearly a thousand years later when the Lapita finally made the decision to move toward eastern Polynesia. It was really only after this migration that the distinctive Polynesian culture was developed, or at least to the extent that it is known today, however the identification of Tonga’s fishing village as the first Polynesian settlement has certainly re-written the history of the ancient Pacific.
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Tomorrow: More Ancient Standard!
By: The Scribe on April, 2007
Around 750 AD, a tribe of people from the Polynesian islands arrived in New Zealand. These Maori people remain in New Zealand today, and the descendants of the original settlers continue to maintain a sense of connection with their ancient ancestry.
Some of the most well-recognized elements of ancient Maori culture are small, carved figures, called Hei-tiki. These were most commonly carved from pounamu (greenstone), or nephrite, a stone similar in quality and appearance to jade. Nephrite is an extremely hard stone, and would have been immensely difficult for the Neolithic Maori to work.
Hei-tiki were likely worn around the neck, and it has been suggested that the figures were fertility charms worn only by women, intended to represent human embryo. This is highly speculative, for there is almost no contextual evidence from the archaeological record through which their purpose might be surmised. Indeed, it was probably Europeans settlers who first proposed the fertility theory after seeing an unfamiliar symbol used by aboriginals with whom they were unable to communicate. A second theory suggests that they were used as memorials to ancestors.
The forms of hei-tiki can vary: the head may be tilted right or left, or even placed upright. This may be representative of changes in the tools being used to carve the figures, since different blade styles would allow different kinds of cuts.
One theory of the hei-tiki’s origin suggests a connection with Tiki, the first man created by Tane in Maori mythology. Today, replica hei-tiki are sold in New Zealand tourist shops, while modern-day Maori may pass on their family’s hei-tiki as heirlooms or wear them as prestige items.
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Tomorrow: India’s vanishing city
By: The Scribe on April, 2007
In 2003, archaeologists working in the Pacific islands of Vanuatu located the region’s oldest cemetery, which contained a rather surprising sight: although the bodies had been carefully placed in their graves 3,000 years ago… the skulls of 70 people were missing!
The earliest known inhabitants of the Pacific islands were the Lapita people, and though the burials in this cemetery date to their occupation of the islands, many of the bodies and heads found here belonged to individuals from completely different corners of the Pacific. Although the Lapita people settled on Vanuatu and in Polynesia, the various groups of Lapita differed genetically. The reasons for this have yet to be explained by archaeologists, and it is hoped that the cemetery on Vanuatu may provide valuable genetic evidence for the settlement patterns of people in the ancient Pacific.
As for the missing skulls, it is thought that the bodies were originally buried with their skulls attached, but were retrieved after the flesh had decayed. Many ancient cultures are known to have kept ancestral skulls in shrines or high-traffic areas of the home, in order to pay honor to the dead.
Oddly enough, one burial of an elderly man had three skulls placed on his chest – it is possible that they were his descendants, though perhaps not surprisingly, the man himself was headless.
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Tomorrow: Early Werewolf mythology
mo floresiensis.
